Chuck?

posted by The Hammer on Sep 27

During a recent outing in Torrance California, I spotted Israel Sesay plopped in front of a flatscreen, waiting for an MLS soccer game to begin.

For those who are not soccer fans, Sesay plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy (home of David Beckham) and was one of the youngest players ever to play in Major League Soccer. He’s not a superstar the likes of Tom Cruise or Justin Timberlake, but still, he’s more famous than I am. So rather than come right out and ask him, “hey, aren’t you Chuck Norris?,” I took a more subtle approach. “Do you follow soccer?” I asked. That proved to be an effective icebreaker. From there, I pumped him for information about all of the drama surrounding his team currently: How’s the new coach working out? (he’s cool) Why aren’t you traveling with your team right now? (twisted ankle) Who’s the fittest dude on the team? (Chris Klein) You guys gonna make the playoffs? (we gotta win) …and so forth. His responses were enlightening. But more importantly, the conversation confirmed that this Israel Sesay definitely was not Chuck Norris.